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Sabah's new state seats do not need federal approval

COMMENT | As a student of Malaysia’s electoral system, I am completely puzzled by the statement that the addition of 13 seats to the Sabah State Assembly requires the approval of the Parliament, as made by Parti Bersatu Sabah deputy president Maximus Ongkili.

Another Sabah politician, Parti Warisan vice-president Junz Wong, has made an even more peculiar statement that the “failure by Parliament to approve the additional 13 Sabah state seats could render the upcoming Sabah state election null and void”.

Ongkili, who headed the Parliament’s Select Committee on electoral reform in 2011-2012 and is expected to be well-versed in electoral matters, reportedly said,
"Legal experts say that if Parliament does not approve the new seats, Sabah will have to withdraw the changes to the constitution".

However, he did not elaborate the constitutional or legal grounds.

I stand corrected, but I suspect the statements by the two learned politicians reflect their confusion over an increase in legislative seats and delineation of constituencies.

To be fair, such confusion is not exclusive to them but commonplace among politicians and journalists. This is because, conventionally, delineation exercises and seat increases take place hand-in-hand.

Even the Election Commission (EC) claimed on the first page of its delineation notice that it had recommended whether to add seats, as if it was the Parliament or State Legislature.

Legislature size a legislative matter

How many seats Parliament and state legislatures should have is simply a legislature matter, to be decided by these legislative bodies themselves.

The size of Parliament is stated in Article 46 of the Federal Constitution. Since 1973, Parliament also spells out how many seats should go to each state and federal territory, through Article 46. Before 1962, this power rested completely with the EC, where seats were to be allocated to the states based on their demographic strength.

The size of a state legislature is determined by some provisions in the State Constitution, state enactment or both. While state constitutions are subject to Article 71 and the Eighth Schedule, which impose some uniformity, no cap is made on the absolute number of legislative members...

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